Chicago schools spend 36 percent more than Berkeley SD 87

Operational spending at Jefferson Elementary School in Cook County is 36 percent less than the average Chicago public school.

Jefferson Elementary School is in the Berkeley SD 87 school district, where operational spending is $9,632 per year, per student.

In the Chicago Public School District (CPS), the average school spends $15,120 per year, per student.

The number of students per classroom at Jefferson Elementary School is actually fewer than at CPS. At Jefferson Elementary School, there are 23 students per classroom, while at CPS, there are 24.

However, at CPS, while schools are staffed for full enrollment, 27 percent of students are "chronically truant." That means adjusted for actual student attendance, CPS has 17.5 students per classroom.

At Jefferson Elementary School, the truancy rate is 8.7 percent.

The Chicago Teachers Union has called on state taxpayers to increase state funding to CPS by 25 percent, or to $20,000 per student. City officials are considering filing a federal lawsuit to require the rest of Illinois to provide this funding.

15.9 percent of students at Jefferson Elementary School earned a passing score on the 2015 Illinois standardized K-12 test, or PARCC exam.